Abstract
We all desire to live in a perfect society, where people are treated with respect and justice is handed out equitably. A home in which we live securely, unafraid of crime or the government taking what is rightfully ours. Unfortunately, this isn’t going to happen on a planet of atonement.
Introduction
There are enough books that have been written about different forms of governments to fill a modest size library. Arguments about what form is best have persisted since two families first merged to form a tribe. The history of the human race is built upon successive experiments on how to organize society.
All have one central factor in common. All are led by imperfect humans, some less imperfect than others, but none that could resist the eventual descent into corruption. No form of government has proven effective against the greatest enemy of us all; ourselves.
Since we as a human collective live on a planet of atonement, meaning we are here to pay our debts and to learn how to operate in a perfect society, we are incapable of leaping to a completely just society. The very fact that the spirit realm allows us to govern ourselves while they look down upon our planet, letting us figure this whole thing out on our own, with periodic interventions, such as Moses, Socrates, Jesus, Buddha or other prophets descending in their self-sacrifice to point us in the right direction.
Given that we are frail, many will still counter there are some forms that have proven more resilient than others. True, but I contend our basic flaws leave openings to ravage whatever structure we impose.
Iceland
Let’s take an example. Iceland is one of the world oldest parliamentary democracies. The fundamental organization of the government, Executive and a separated Legislative power with an independent Judiciary is not unlike the United States.[1] Iceland is composed of 93% of the residents are Icelandic. 84% belong to the Lutheran Church.[2] Fishing and animal husbandry were the major livelihoods.[3]
Throughout its history, Iceland was usually poor with a low wealth to poverty gap. During the twentieth century Iceland grew to be largely middle class with a present GDP per capita of $45,262 per person, compared to a GDP per capita of $53,143 in the United States, as per 2013.[4]
Hence, one could postulate with evidence to back them up, that a democracy within a homogenous population, of a low wealth gap could sustain a democratic history going back to the year 930, when the legislative and judicial assembly was first created, of a relatively stable of predominantly honest government for over one thousand years.[5]
Until prosperity hit. In the run-up to the United States mortgage crisis of 2007, bank loans throughout the world were built upon a foundation of ever-increasing wealth. All properties throughout the world would continue to gain in value. And if one or two failed then no big deal. The majority would rescue the slight numbers that may go bankrupt. Newly found banks in Iceland met the demand for more money to invest in ever-increasing risky schemes. People grew immensely wealthy within years. Politicians became tied to the new class of billionaires and multimillionaires.
In 2008, the bottom fell out and the banks defaulted. The rich rushed to the protection of the politicians, who not wishing to let go of the golden egg began to formulate plans to in-debt the entire nation to shield the few. Exactly what occurred the year before in the United States, when the government intervened and bailed out the risky and questionable investments made by Wall Street with absolutely no repercussions to any responsible party.
The people of Iceland reacted differently, by staging massive demonstrations they brought down the corrupt government and prevent the mortgaging of their country to bail out the few.[6] Hence, corruption even turned a proud tradition of serving the people honestly into a trial, where, thanks heavens, the people were able to rescue their sovereignty from those who wished to steal their future.
In conclusion, yes, a concentrated protected environment is able to maintain a relatively efficient and free of graft form of government for many years, but when the outside world presents its temptations, humans lose sight of their moral compass and turn toward the riches in front of them.
But, this isn’t what is expected of us. For we are souls who are on track to become fraternal, not insular or exclusive. The possibility that we will be able to conjugate into homogenous groups and not assimilate others is slight.
More than two thousand years ago the spirit world envisioned Rome as the beacon of light for the world. Rome would set an example as an enlightened city which would demonstrate by its culture and learning the path to improvement. Our guides require us to have the sophistication and determination to enable those less fortunate, those less mature in their cycle of reincarnations to be absorbed into our society and to gain from their trials in our midst.
Rome failed when the allure of conquest and wealth became overwhelming. We face the same challenges, where for a few, the manipulation of a few hundred politicians can leverage into billions gained seemly overnight. Easy pickings which are hard to ignore for many who are unaware that any ill-gotten gains will never be worth the payback required in the future.
China
Money not only corrupts democracies, but dictatorships, fascists, socialist and communists alike. Take China for example. Mao’s egalitarian state, where peasants rule, quickly turned into a cruel dictatorship of the communist oligarchy, who murdered millions by repression and ignorance to simple human behavior and economics. Once the collective communist hive realized their economic model was doomed to perpetual failure, they unleashed the creative energies of the entrepreneurial Chinese.
The relaxing of the economic straightjacket let the genii out of the box; riches flowed like water.
The scramble to grab a share of the prize resulted in the trampling of rights of the peasants once again, through land grabs, forced labor and favors to the rich.
China is now communist in name only. More fascist than Italy or Spain was during World War II, the government controls the major industries, performs favors for the powerful cartels and effectively suppresses the masses.
Governments in General
Are all governments horrible, of course not. Some function relatively well. My point is that all forms of government we have on earth at this moment are frail, just waiting for a series of events that would cause the majority of the ruling elite to jettison their principles, sacrifice their constituents well-being to secure their place at the trough.
It is a testament to the progress humankind has made that we have as many benevolent and functioning governments that we are blessed with at this time in our history. Think back one, two or three thousand years ago, the very concept of the rule of law was foreign to most of the world. The vast majority of humans were chattel to be used as seen fit by a despotic ruler.
The point is that as humans become better spirits, we develop our society and culture. When we are reincarnated once again, we bring with us a desire to approximate our life in the celestial cities. This is the method whereby our progress is maintained. One wave after the next of increasingly experienced souls who are capable to leading others to the right path.
Whereas, when the earth began as a primitive planet, those who died mostly spent time in the Lower Zones, unable by the lack of virtue to ascend and learn how to comport themselves in a civilized society. As more and more spirits were able to follow the examples set by Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu and others they were able to spend time in an atmosphere of goodness and see for themselves the benefits of living in a just and honest society.
As each wave is reborn, the world changes slowly. Society advances little by little. Advanced spirits demonstrate the benefits of love, charity, fraternity and honesty to others less advanced and in need of adjustment.
Governments are the representation of our collective state of imperfection. Hence, we must recognize the limitations of where we are at this time and not overreach for a panacea, which would result in an outcome the opposite of what was intended.
We are participating in a long march and we need to be sure where to carefully place our next step. We waste our time hating people who believe the role of government should be different, either less or more than we desire. We must calibrate how to handle what we are able to achieve and how much do we help others without retarding their ability to learn that life is about work, effort and sacrifice.
We should acknowledge that inequality is currently a requirement given the current status of earth. People must be allowed to live through their trials in the manner that has been laid out for them. Being rich or poor is part of their curriculum and a necessary step to attain their eventual pure status.
Does this mean we give up and not try to push our society forward? No; only that we need to step back a bit and coolly asses the progress that we can reasonably attain and what are the ramifications for all level of spirits who are in the midst of their time here, participating in the school of earth.
Author:
Brian Foster has a BSCS degree and a MBA. He has worked in R&D for medical device corporations and in IT for large financial institutions. Brian Foster has a blog at http://www.nwspiritism.com.
Works Cited
Savastio, R. (2015, Jan. 14). Icelanders Overthrow Government and Rewrite Constitution After Banking Fraud-No Word From US Media. Retrieved from Liberty Voice: http://guardianlv.com/2013/12/icelanders-overthrow-government-and-rewrite-constitution-after-banking-fraud-no-word-from-us-media/
Wikipedia. (2015, Jan. 14). Demographics of Iceland. Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Iceland
Wikipedia. (2015, Jan. 14). Economic History of Iceland. Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_Iceland
Wikipedia. (2015, Jan. 14). Economy of Iceland. Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Iceland
Wikipedia. (2015, Jan. 14). Iceland. Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland
Wikipedia. (2015, Jan. 14). Politics of Iceland. Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Iceland
[1] Wikipedia, Politics of Iceland, n.d., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Iceland (Accessed January 14, 2015)
[2] Wikipedia, Demographics of Iceland, n.d., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Iceland (Accessed January 14, 2015)
[3] Wikipedia, Economic History of Iceland, n.d., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_Iceland (Accessed January 14, 2015)
[4] Wikipedia, Economy of Iceland, n.d., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Iceland (Accessed January 14, 2015)
[5] Wikipedia, Iceland, n.d., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland (Accessed January 14, 2015)
[6] Liberty Voice, Icelanders Overthrow Government and Rewrite Constitution After Banking Fraud-No Word From US Media, n.d., http://guardianlv.com/2013/12/icelanders-overthrow-government-and-rewrite-constitution-after-banking-fraud-no-word-from-us-media/ (Accessed January 14, 2015)
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2 Comments
A just society may not be possible at this stage, but with greater social, political and spiritual awareness, things can definitely improve much faster than they have been. I’ve met many people who consider themselves to be spiritual, but they remain indifferent to social and political problems; this is a serious mistake. We are currently matter and spirit, not just spirit. By only focusing on the spiritual realm, we are denying our physical reality. I don’t see any point in this.
I’m not saying that all spiritual people are like this, but unfortunately, I’ve met more than a few. I think what’s required is a balance of yin-yang energies, so that we can remain balanced and yet still evolve. Meditation is great, but it has to be coupled with a firm grasp of the real world (eg, social, political and cultural issues). I believe your article has included both of these aspects, which is good. Unfortunately, I’ve read a lot of new-age spiritual literature which completely ignores the “real world”. No wonder evolution is taking so long; people are constantly being misled by “sham shamans”, which is a term used by Michael Parenti (political scientist).
I believe true spirituality is about expressing our uniqueness for the purpose of creating greater social unity. Again, it’s a combination of the individual and the social. We seem to be living in an age where individualism is encouraged, while social unity is placed at the bottom of the list. Hopefully this trend changes in the near future, but it will require great leaps in terms of spiritual, social and political understanding. Just one, or the other two, won’t work. Our definition of spiritual education needs to be expanded to include all of these elements, otherwise we are just losing ourselves in escapism.
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Yes, your comment parallels what the Doctrine of Spiritism tells us – that we must be engaged with society and helping to bring all society together. Spiritism states that there is no benefit in being a monk or a nun if all you do is to improve yourself, you have a duty to help others too.
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